Mascara compositions have been used for many years to increase the thickness, length and overall aesthetic appearance of human eyelashes. There are generally two types of mascara: regular and water-resistant/waterproof. Regular mascara is generally water soluble, while the water resistant variety is typically removable with soap and water. Over the course of a day, conventional mascaras typically wear off relatively quickly, especially when subjected to physical abrasion, and reapplication during the day may be necessary. But reapplying mascara over the course of a day may be undesirable for a user. As a result, these users may sacrifice the look they desire because they simply do not have the time or the desire or continually reapply mascara. In addition, even though conventional mascara typically wears off over the course of the day, a small amount may remain at the end of the day when the user goes to sleep. If this small amount of mascara remaining on the eyelashes at night is not removed, it may be undesirably transferred onto a sleeping surface (e.g., pillows, sheets, covers, bed clothes).
“Long Wear” mascaras are known, and may overcome some of the issues related to maintaining a “newly applied mascara” look throughout the day without the drawbacks of reapplication. But “long” is a relative term, and while existing long wear mascaras are intended to reduce or eliminate reapplication throughout the day, they are generally not suitable for multi-day wear. Some conventional long wear mascaras may not even provide a suitable look for 24 hours. One problem associated with at least some conventional long wear mascaras is that the composition must be sufficiently tacky to stay on the lashes for an extended period of time, but the thicker, tackier mascara may result in the appearance of undesirable “clumps.”
Mascara compositions are generally applied using an applicator, sometimes referred to as a mascara brush or comb. When using a brush, the mascara is typically removed from a reservoir by placing the brush in the mascara reservoir and removing it. Excess mascara is removed from the brush with a wiper that contacts the distal ends of the bristles of the mascara brush as the brush is removed from the reservoir. The mascara that remains on the brush tends to be disposed around the core of the brush or flow toward the core. When the brush is contacted with the eyelashes of a user, the bristles separate the eyelashes such that the separated eyelashes can come into contact the core of the brush to receive the mascara disposed thereon.
There are generally two types of mascara brushes: molded plastic brushes and twisted-wire brushes. Plastic molded brushes are commonly formed from a thermoplastic material in an injection mold or similar process. Molded brushes typically have bristles arranged uniformly in rows with relatively wide spaces between the bristles. Mascaras having a relatively higher viscosity, such as some conventional long-wear mascaras, work well with a molded plastic brush for high levels of look control because the larger spaces between the bristles of the molded plastic brush are suitable for receiving the thicker composition (i.e., the composition flows more easily between the bristles). In contrast to a molded plastic brush, the bristles of a twisted-wire brush are generally spaced more closely together, and generally do not form well defined rows. This reduced space between bristles results in more resistance to flow for a higher viscosity mascara composition. Twisted-wire brushes are typically formed by placing a plurality of bristles between two parallel metal wires and then twisting the wires together in a helical or helix-like (e.g., coiled or spiral) configuration to trap and hold the bristles between the wires. It is not uncommon for the bristles of a twisted-wire brush to appear to be randomly distributed on the core.
According it would be desirable to provide a mascara product that lasts more than 24 hours and achieves the desired look of current mascaras and the consumer desired feel, and can be applied with a twisted-wire brush.